Phozon
Phozons are the source of life for everything in Erion and are involved in the level up system in both Odin Sphere and Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. Overview Phozons are small motes of light that appear from the bodies of living things after they pass on. They are inherently magical and are used by sorcerers as the source of their spells. By default, Phozons eventually drift down into the earth and disappear into the Netherworld to create blue crystals, which then release the phozons back up into the land in order to be used anew. This process is referred to as the "cycle of souls" and is an integral part in birth and rebirth of living things. Weapons like the Cauldron and Psyphers, due to their Phozon-absorbing nature, are destructive as a result and part of the reason why the prophecies regarding the Armageddon end up coming true. Phozons are also used extensively by elemental beings such as fairies, whose bodies are completely made from Phozons and are released in large quantities when they die. They also appear integral in holding the earth together, as when King Valentine ordered the Cauldron to absorb every Phozon in Erion, it began to sink into the ocean with Ingway describing it as "the root of the land" being dead. After the Armageddon, there were far less Phozons in Erion even though Velvet was successfully able to release all the energy in her, Cornelius, Gwendolyn, and Oswald's psyphers, which appears to be the reason as to why there's almost no magic in Alice's time over a thousand years later. Gameplay (PS2) Phozons are released from enemies that are successfully killed by the player. Within a set period of time, the player has to absorb Phozons on-screen by holding the L1 button or otherwise the Phozons will drift offscreen and be rendered useless. Absorbing phozons fills two different meters: a smaller meter indicates how close the player is to leveling up their Psypher (attack) and potentially obtaining new spells while a larger meter that can be filled multiple times indicates the spell types that can be cast. Using a spell depletes this meter and some spells require the meter to be filled multiple times in order to be used. Phozons are also used in the growing system to obtain fruits and other ingredients. By planting a seed, Phozons floating around the stage will be drawn to the plant and cause the plant to grow and eventually bear fruit. Some plants require more phozons than others: for instance, a Mulberry plant requires 5 phozons be absorbed while a Grape plant requires 12. Besides killing enemies, Phozons can also be obtained by mixing and using an Xtra Phozon bottle once the recipe is obtained, mixing together potions in general, holding the absorb button near a Phozon Butterfly if it appears in a stage, or by planting a Rosemile seed, which releases 12 Phozons. Gameplay (Leifthrasir) The system involving Phozons has become more complex with the remake. As attack and HP are now mapped to the same level-up meter, collecting Phozons is only a minor way to increase your overall attack power, with the primary means of leveling up now being the cooking system. Phozons are still collected in the same manner as in the PS2 version where they're released from enemies upon death. Now, Phozons are automatically drawn to the Psypher and don't drift away, although they can be absorbed quicker if the L1 button is held. Phozons can also be released from the Psypher by holding both the L1 button and the attack button, giving the player the ability to "water" plants. A counter in the upper right of the screen indicates how many Phozons the player has in their possession. Depending on how many Phozons they have, players can go to the skill menu and use them to increase the overall effectiveness of different skills, with the cost of improving skills becoming higher each time Phozons are used. While some attacks are mapped to the POW meter, other magic attacks require the player to fill an additional meter with an adequate number of Phozons. The Phozon counter is also useful in planting, as the player can easily determine how many seeds they can plant without worrying about whether there are enough phozons present on-screen As before, Phozons can be obtained from butterflies, although these instead appear in allotted areas rather than randomly during battle. The Xtra Phozon potion is also present and Rosemiles make their return, though Phozons can no longer be obtained from basic alchemy mixes. Trivia * Phozons seem to be based off Eitr, a mythical substance described in Norse mythology to be the origin of all living things. Eitr is also said to be poisonous and found in snakes, most notably the dragon Jörmungandr. * Generally in-game, enemies that die give off purple star-shaped Phozons. When fairies die during cutscenes (ex: Elfaria), they give off round white phozons instead.